Fuell cell performance boosted by microbes

U.S. researchers managed to boost hydrogen production from biomass to four times as much by using an electrically-assisted microbial fuel cell that doesn't require oxygen.

By giving the bacteria a small assist with a tiny amount of electricity -- about 0.25 volts, a small fraction of the voltage needed to run a typical 6-volt cell phone -- the researchers breached the fermentation barrier and converted acetic acid, one of the formerly unusable products, into carbon dioxide and hydrogen